Respect, Not Slurs

It’s time for respect. Whether or not a racial slur is acceptable should never be subject to a public opinion poll, regardless of the poll results or the ethnicity of the participants.

The popular, commercial use of a racially based word with a long and harmful history as an epithet isn’t an affront only to Native Americans, but also to blacks, Latinos, Asian-Americans, American Jews, L.G.B.T. people and everyone who has suffered from discrimination based on identity.

Slurs of any sort belong in history books, not on football helmets and not as a source of revenue for rich and powerful sports team owners.

Changing the name of the Washington team will be temporarily disruptive. But keeping the name will be a permanent offense to everyone who has experienced and fought against discrimination. It’s time to change the name.

ANTHONY G. GONZALES

San Francisco

The writer is executive director of AIM-WEST, a nonprofit human rights-based intertribal group.